


Beautiful Blond

by Chromi



Series: Someday, So I Believe [MarcoAce Week 2019] [3]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bad Flirting, Gyms, How Do I Tag, M/M, MarcoAce Week 2019, Nudity, Sanji best wingman, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-13 18:08:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21198212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chromi/pseuds/Chromi
Summary: 'Beautiful Blond, Ace would later refer to him as when he called Deuce on his way home, jabbering about this cool new person he had seen.'





	Beautiful Blond

**Author's Note:**

> For MarcoAce Week 2019 day three, using both prompts Feathers / Ink (really, really loosely lmao)

Ace was not an obsessive type of person, nor did he ever really take much notice of other people in his daily life. They were all the same, right? No one ever seemed to stand out or do much in the way of gaining his attention, and as far as he was concerned this wasn’t a bad thing.

He had friends, of course, friends who would accompany him several times a week to the gym they lived near to. Friends who would, when asked, join him in boxing training and soundly beat the ever loving crap out of him.

And that was when Ace first saw _him_, when he was lying on the floor of the boxing ring used for training, cheek pressed into the ground. There, across the room, talking to a guy with a ridiculous pompadour hairdo. Beautiful Blond, Ace would later refer to him as when he called Deuce on his way home, jabbering about this cool new person he had seen.

“I think I love him,” Ace gushed over the phone, his breath forming clouds as he spoke into the freezing winter air, “Deuce, seriously, I’m in love with the guy.”

“The guy you made eye contact with for a second across the gym,” was Deuce’s flat reply.

Ace sighed dramatically. “There was a connection, a _spark,_ I swear.”

“Was this before or after you got punched in the head by Zoro?”

Ah, screw Deuce. He didn’t understand, he hadn’t been there.

From that fateful day onwards, Beautiful Blond seemed to virtually live at the gym. He was there when Ace turned up for his 6 AM workout before heading to work. He was there again the next day when Ace and Zoro fought it out in the boxing ring again, resulting in Ace losing focus and getting punched to the floor once again - watching Beautiful Blond bench press was more important than ensuring he himself wasn’t knocked out. Definitely.

He was there every time Ace was for weeks following, and, of course, the damn guy was there _again_ when Ace managed to talk Sanji into spotting for him during weight lifting.

“Don’t look directly at him,” Ace hissed, glaring at his barbell as Sanji watched Beautiful Blond draw nearer, walking in what was perhaps the most mesmerising way that Ace had ever had the good fortune of witnessing. “I don’t want to make it obvious I think he’s gorgeous.”

“Would help if you stopped drooling,” Sanji commented, “and careful, I don’t want to have to rush you to the hospital if you drop the bar on your face.”

“That’s why you’re here to spot for me!”

And to Ace’s horror, Beautiful Blond _smiled _at him as he passed them. Ace froze mid press, arms shaking with the effort of holding the bar in place but barely noticing.

Beautiful Blond knew.

He _definitely _knew.

“I don’t see why I have to stalk some unsuspecting man in the changing rooms,” Sanji moaned an hour later, towelling his hair dry from the shower and pinning Ace with a look that promised certain death if they were caught. “You know what men are? Hairy. Smelly. Gross. Sloppy. I don’t want to spend my time watching one of those, thank you very much.”

“Oh, quit whining,” Ace said with a laugh, “it’ll be too obvious if I’m alone.”

“It’ll be too obvious when you start staring, either way!”

They fell silent in unison as their target entered the changing room from the showers, a towel slung low around his hips, blond hair dripping. Ace swallowed, wondering just how much he had heard - probably everything, knowing his luck - when Beautiful Blond smiled at him again.

But when Beautiful Blond turned to open his locker, though, Ace’s eyes went wide in amazement.

“Sanji look! Look! You see that?” Ace whispered excitedly.

“See what?” Sanji replied, rummaging in his bag for his comb.

“Look at BB—” their code for Beautiful Blond, “—Sanji quick, before he turns around!” Sanji made an indignant noise when Ace grabbed his cheeks and turned his face away from his bag. “Look at _those!”_

The blond had tattoos on the backs of his shoulders. Two huge, intricate, astonishingly pretty blue wings that stretched the span of his shoulder blades, rippling like real wings as Beautiful Blond moved. Ace and Sanji gaped openly at his back as he pulled his things out of his locker.

“Fine, I’ll admit it,” Sanji muttered, “those are _nice_.”

“They’re _hot_,” Ace corrected, releasing Sanji’s face to grab at his own. “Oh, god, Sanji, he’s _perfect_, I can’t cope with this, I need to get out of here.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

And, as if testing Ace’s limits of self restraint, the blond man removed the towel from around his hips.

And Sanji wouldn’t have been surprised if Ace keeled over dead at that very second.

“It’s just a butt!” Sanji whispered, laughter creeping into his voice as Ace turned away sharply, eyes wide and looking both thrilled and utterly mortified. “Ace, it’s a _butt_, you’ve seen mine enough times, and Zoro’s - it’s no different—”

“It’s _completely _different! I don’t wanna tap _your _asses!”

“Oh my _god_ you are _so _embarrassing.”

Sanji pulled his shirt on and grabbed up his notebook full of recipes that he jotted down when inspiration struck. He tore a blank page out, located his pen in his bag, and began writing out a number.

“That’s my phone number,” Ace observed, glancing at the paper for the briefest of seconds in between ogling the man’s butt and inked shoulders. “You’ve learned my number off by heart? That’s so cute.”

Sanji frowned at Ace before dropping his pen back into his bag. He straightened up and took a breath, steadying himself, before moving to approach Beautiful Blond in all his naked glory.

“I’m putting an end to this right now,” Sanji practically growled, “this has gone on too long.”

“Sanji!” Ace hissed in a stage whisper, grabbing for his friend’s wrist but missing, “Sanji, no! Please!” But Sanji was done with a capital D, and he was going to do this, that much was certain. Ace tugged his shorts up over his legs with a hop on the spot, cheeks flaming red and heart frantic because _holy shit this isn’t happening._

“Hey,” Sanji said somewhat rudely, Ace thought, hand on his hip as he addressed the blond man, “tall guy.”

Beautiful Blond looked at Sanji with an almost lazy, bored expression as he stepped into a pair of black boxers. Ace could have screamed as he bent to pull them up, giving him an exceptional view of the nicest butt he had ever seen.

“You see that idiot over there?” He indicated to Ace, furiously red and making a scene of pulling his t-shirt on over his head to avoid making eye contact. “He’s really into you and it’s driving me insane. He won’t talk to you himself because he’s lovestruck, so do me a favor and take his number, okay?”

The man took the piece of paper that was shoved into his hand before Sanji turned back and stomped away.

“Do I at least get to know his name?” Beautiful Blond asked, blue gaze meeting Ace’s gray eyes as his head popped out of the neck of his shirt. Ace choked on his saliva at the heat in that look, heat directed solely at _him_.

“Ace,” Ace spluttered before Sanji could, “my name’s Ace.”

“You could call him Idiot if you prefer, seeing as he’s behaving like one,” Sanji said, neatly stepping out of the way of Ace’s incoming fist.

“Ace is fine,” Beautiful Blond smiled, and to Ace’s dismay those inked feathers were hidden from sight by a pale gray shirt that the man slipped onto his shoulders.

They finished dressing in silence, Ace continuously shooting glances over his shoulder at the man and communicating entirely via gestures and expressions with Sanji, too horrified by the entire exchange to speak again. Ace was not a shy person by nature, not usually, but everything about the other man had him giggling like a freaking teenager. Every time Ace chanced a glance over his shoulder the blond was watching him, a small smile on his lips the whole time.

Just as Beautiful Blond hoisted his bag onto his shoulder and made to leave the room, Ace finally found his voice.

“What’s your name?” He all but yelled in his haste, earning a look of mild surprise from the other man. “I can’t keep calling you Beautiful Blond.”

The man snorted a laugh, and Ace belatedly realised his enormous, tremendous, awful mistake.

“I mean,” he tried to backtrack immediately, “I don’t call you that, I was joking, that’s a stupid thing to call someone—”

“Marco,” the man interrupted, smiling, “it’s Marco. Although I think I prefer what you’ve come up with.”

_Marco._ What a flawless, perfect, _wonderful _name for someone so handsome, so attractive, with such a nice ass—

“See you around, Ace,” Marco said, pushing the door open, his blue eyes glinting with something mischievous, “I’ll drop you a line later about - how did you phrase it? _Tapping asses_, was it?”

Ace couldn’t decide between wanting to curl up and die or kissing Sanji for his help.

**Author's Note:**

> So tomorrow for day 4 I will be on a plane for 11 hours! And travelling/sitting in an airport for 5-6 hours on either side of the flight (: I have most of tomorrow's entry written on my phone already, but fingers crossed I'll be able to make it better and finish it on the flight (writing fanfiction at 40,000 feet in the air? It's more likely than you think). If tomorrow's is terrible, you know why. Today's is short and terrible because I've spent the day packing and enjoying my last day by the sea. Curse you Chizyk for inspiring me to take part in this T__T
> 
> I'm on [Tumblr](https://aishitekuretearigatou.tumblr.com/) if you want to come say hi!
> 
> Comments and kudos let me know if I'm doing something right, and I always love your feedback!


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